Case Study: Citibank’s Indian Business Model

Citigroup opened its first office in India in Kolkata (Calcutta) in 1902. With capital nearing US$ 1 billion it is the single largest foreign direct investor in the financial services industry in India. It has become one of India’s most diverse and recognized financial service providers operating through 40 branches of Citibank N.A. across 20 cities and through various finance companies operating directly/indirectly out of locations across the country. Citigroup India offers a complete range of corporate and investment banking services under the “Citigroup” brand name, consumer banking products and services under the “Citibank” banner and consumer finance under the “CitiFinancial” banner.… Read the rest

Case Study: The Daewoo Group and the Asian Financial Crisis

In 1999, Daewoo Group Korea’s second largest chaebol, or family-owned conglomerate, collapse under $57 billion in debt and was forced to split into independent companies. The Asian financial crisis and its aftermath finally took its toll on the expansion-minded Daewoo and forced both Daewoo and the Korean government to decide how to dissolve the chaebol. Kim Woo-Choong started Daewoo in 1967 as a small textile company with only five employees and $10,000 in capital. In just 30 years, Mr. Kim had grown Daewoo into a diversified company with 250,000 employees worldwide as well as over 30 domestic companies and 300 overseas subsidiaries that generated sales of more than $100 billion annually.… Read the rest

Case Study: Business Model of Napster

The Napster brand has had a varied history. Its initial incarnation was as the first widely used service for ‘free’ peer-to-peer (P2P) music sharing. The record companies mounted a legal challenge to Napster due to lost revenues on music sales which eventually forced it to close. But the Napster brand was purchased and its second incarnation offers a legal music download service in direct competition with Apple’s iTunes.

The original Napster

Napster was initially created between 1998 and 1999 by a 19 year old called Shawn Fanning while he attended Boston’s Northeastern University. He wrote the programme initially as a way of solving a problem for a friend who wanted to find music downloads more easily online online.… Read the rest

Case Study: Amazon.com Situation Analysis

Jeffrey Bezos started Amazon.com in 1994, after recognizing that Internet usage was growing at a rate of 2,300 percent a year. Operating from a 400-square foot office in Seattle, Jeffrey launched Amazon.com on the Internet in July 1995. Amazon.com mission is to use the Internet to transform book buying into the fastest, easiest, and most enjoyable shopping experience possible. By the end of 1996, his firm was one of the most successful Web retailers, with revenues reaching $15.6 million. Almost overnight Amzon.com quickly became the world’s largest e-tail bookstore in the world. Amazon has continued to expand its customer base, and sales revenues have increased every year.… Read the rest

Case Study: eBay”™s Business Model

Founded on 1995 by Pierre Omidyar, eBay was considered a pioneer in the online auction industry whereby people are brought together on a local, national and international basis to serve the purpose of creating a person-to-person community where ever individual could have an equal access through the same medium which is the Internet. eBay offers wide varieties of products and services for bargain hunters, hobbyists and collectors and sellers, changing the way people engage in trading hence eBay had changed the face of e-commerce from its inception. Today, eBay is continuously the brand preference with over 39 market presence and with $60 billion of the total value of sold items on the site’s trading platform.… Read the rest

How to Save Money with Credit Cards

Credit cards have been vilified by many as being the surest way of getting into irreversible debt. However, this notion and belief is not always true. It is possible to actually save money with credit cards. This is nevertheless only possible if you know how to go about saving money with credit cards. Here are a few time-tested ways in which you can still use your credit card and manage to put some cash into your pocket as well.

Rewards are a popular offer given by most credit card providers. They offer the card user certain rewards for using the card to purchase or make payments.… Read the rest